Depression and how to write it

I think making him feel physical pain from injuries gained during superheroing is a great way of doing this. The thing with physical pain is that thinking positive thoughts doesn't make it go away, no matter how many Optimists say so as an excuse to do nothing to help. It also would make a much-needed opposing aesop that actually condemns violence.

@Colbert: Well he has a team of physical therapists and a pretty intense training regime. That might be a good way to show it subtlety, right?

That sounds like a good means to to bring mention of his injuries/pain, yeah.

"The thing is, I'm not really after a ephihanic moment. I mean, I have this scene in mind where after he beats the man, Alan takes all his aggression out in a gym and..well goes nuts. What I would like to know is how do you go about getting better? Is it hard to admit your depressed before deciding to see a shrink. Is a shrink the only thing that could help him through it."

OK, firstly, the thing that's inaccurate about Epiphany Therapy is the rapidity of the change. An epiphany can make someone decide to change, or that change is possible, but it'll still take time and (probably) effort to make the change - it won't happen immediately. Also, often the change started before the epiphany, the epiphany is just when the person first became aware of the change. (Incidentally, the manga version of Fruits Basket has a realistic portrayal of Epiphany Therapy with Kyo Sohma partway through the series.) Also, often the recovery process involves several mini-epiphanies, either on the same topic or on several related ones.

Therapy certainly helps a depressed person recover, but it's not necessary, especially if you have good friends. And most depressed patients, the big barrier to treatment isn't admitting they have a problem but thinking they can change. Hopelessness is part of the syndrome, after all.

Oh, and by the way, I know that article is screwy. But it describes the cognitive features of depression accurately, even though it confuses cause & effect.

I don't know what the relqtionship between guilt and depression is. But what I have seen is that depression involves a bad case of "why bother?". That can be everything from why bother shaving in tge morning, to why bother having breakfast or why bother going to work. In more severe forms people ask why bother eating, why bother sleeping or more directly, why bother living at all.

I had a buddy who is a Crown Attorney - but not depressed - who commented on the revolving door nature of the justice system. Not that it is necessarily the same getting arrested, convicted, paroled and arrested again, but it didn't matter how man criminals you deal out justice to there is always an endless supply that continue to appear. The seemingly pointless nature of the exercise could strike a superhero and get him to ask "why bother?"

Keep in mind that there are at least two types of depression. One is situational where events and circumstances drive someone into a funk. A combination of medicine, therapy, counselling and such over a few months can work through it, if the underlying circumstances or events can be dealt with. The other involves an actual chemical imbalance in the brain which can be treated with ongoing medication but never cured.

I'll post this here even though it was on topic in the other topic. I just hope whoever silenced me doesn't follow me around and silence me in every topic:

Like Ettina, I find the opposite more common and far more maddening in real-life.

Optimism is clearly just a clever excuse for apathy and/or sadism, and it's a real shame this leads to Optimists being Optimistic over and over again to as many people as they can.

I ask you rhetorically: Did slavery become okay when it was re-branded a "Peculiar Institution?" Did the Holocaust become good when it was branded a "Solution?" Similarly, my opinion is that letting people remain sick and die or flat-out hurting and kill people are wrong regardless of whether they're called apathy, sadism, or Optimism.

edit: Actually, screw that. I'm out of here. I won't tolerate this shit in real life so I won't tolerate it here. I hope whoever silenced me gets the justice they truly deserve.

edited 19th Feb '11 4:08:00 PM by colbertimposter

I just skimmed the thread, since most people have already covered depression itself pretty well.

On my experiences with therapy: A depressed person will REALLY fight the idea that they need therapy, either through guilt (I'm already a burden on my family and friends, so therapy will make them feel even worse), fear (what if it doesn't work somehow), apathy (Fuck that noise, it won't matter anyway), or pride (I don't need a therapist, I can get back to normal on my own).

For me it was a mix of pride and guilt—I thought I could snap myself out of it without being a burden on people. After three months of worsening depression, I spent three more months struggling to invoke Epiphany Therapy. It never worked more than a few hours, and I'd always feel worse than before. This even though I KNEW that depression was caused by severe physiological changes, that Epiphany Therapy was only a VERY temporary fix, and was on the brink of letting myself starve to death through sheer apathy. Eventually I sucked up my pride/inner fear and went to therapy, but it's really scary to think of how close I came to being a statistic.

That's how messed-up depression can make you.

edited 20th Feb '11 2:19:06 PM by Sharysa

I don't know how much this will help, but My Time Of Dying is a Sonic The Hedgehog fanfic with a First Person Narrative that is written in the Present Tense. It's whiplash-fast and you get a direct window seat to Scourge's feelings on what a loser he is, pivoting around him being sick of being the bad guy.

It's about Scourge the Hedgehog going through feelings of intense depression. It starts with his attempted suicide, gives you some insight into how he's been working himself up to killing himself, goes on to express his feelings of worthlessness, and is pretty big on the idea that depression doesn't clear up in a hurry.

While there's technically a Sonic/Scourge relationship going on, it's far from the focus. You should probably check it out.

If it helps, I recently wrote this chapter to an original thing I'm dabbling with: http://shadsie.deviantart.com/art/The-Bonekeepers-Union-Ch-3-495878833 It's the third chapter, so you might be lost on some of the worldbuilding stuff if you read just it. I drew upon some of my bipolar experience to write a character who comes to bad end. I tried to convey the "natural depression" as well as it being set off through low social-rank and being in a position dealing with death. He tries to fight it with his relationships and with adopting a pet, but the looped destructive thoughts just keep coming.

That's pretty much how a real depression-episode is. You need other people to see the good in you because you stop believing you have it and get trapped in loops. At least, that's what happens to me.

I think guilt can set it off if it's already there, latent. A large amount of guilt can develop it. Just keep in mind that it is not a "normal" sadness. It is a strange thing that will drag your emotions down even if you look around and think that life is pretty good for you. For me, it's a thing I have to "ride" through until my brain balances out. I tend to want to stay asleep a lot when it happens and find myself fighting self-destructive thoughts.

Oh yeah—a lot of times, chronic depression is cyclic. I can go weeks or months perfectly normal, and then suddenly I wake up thinking I'm the worst person in the world, or I get upset at tiny little snags that wouldn't normally phase me. Like "oh god, i woke up early and i couldn't get to sleep for two hours i'm a fucking crazy person." I'm pretty used to that because I'm a night owl, but when I get caught in a cycle, it completely ruins my mood for the day.

Intrusive thoughts often spring themselves on depressed people, as well. Like, I'd be driving somewhere on a route I know very well, and suddenly on a turn I think, "If my car flips over in a freak accident, I wonder if I'd die or just break a leg." I don't get a lot of intrusive thoughts, but I've managed to control them by not panicking and letting them run their course.

Stress often makes both the cycles and the intrusive thoughts more prevalent, but that's pretty self-explanatory.

edited 29th Nov '14 10:59:47 AM by Sharysa

I feel that that the intricacies of writing about one mood disorder, while experiencing another, are worth noting. I have dysthymia, but my protagonist has major depressive disorder (among other things). There is some overlap, so it's not so difficult to cross into the other territory. However, I occasionally have to remind myself that he doesn't operate in exactly the same way as I do, so I refresh myself with some quick research.

edited 29th Nov '14 10:32:28 PM by SpaceWolf